Question

The glomerular membrane has a permeability about –
A) 100 to 500 times as great as usual capillary
B) 20 times greater than capillary
C) 10 times greater than capillary
D) Same as capillary

Answer 1

The glomerulus is involved in the process of filtration of blood. For this purpose, the membrane of the glomerulus is highly permeable. This permeability helps in the filtration of urea out of the blood and purification of the blood.

Complete answer:
The process of filtration of blood begins at the glomerulus. Ultrafiltration occurs at the glomerular membrane. It is made of the following membranes –
1. Endothelium
2. Basement membrane
3. Squamous epithelium
The glomerular membrane has a specific attribute as it is about 100 to 500 times more permeable than the walls of the blood capillary of the other body tissues. Such a high permeability of this membrane is because of the presence of thousands of fenestrae or small pores in the walls of glomerular capillaries.

So, the answer is option A.

Additional Information:
The high permeability of the glomerulus allows for passage impurities from the blood to the filtrate. This membrane is not permeable to blood cells. So, blood cells are not filtered out into the glomerulus.

Note:
The nephrons are microscopic. A nephron is regarded as the structural and functional unit of the kidney. Nephron is composed of a renal corpuscle and a renal tubule. The nephron consists of a tuft of capillaries known as a glomerulus which is enclosed inside the Bowman's capsule. The renal tubule extends outwards from the capsule.